Epilepsy, Learning Memory, Cellular Psychology, Psychological Development Flashcards
T/F Epilepsy is a disease
False, it’s a symptom
What is epilepsy?
It is a range of conditions characterised by recurrent unprovoked epileptic seizures predominantly due to synchronous firing of neurons
T/F Epilepsy is life-threatening
True, patients can die from accidental injury, suicided, and sudden unexplained death
List the stages of epileptic seizure
1) aura, patient can sense something wrong
2) focal discognitive seizure (not the whole brain)
3) secondary convulsive features (i.e limb stiffness)
What’s a partial seizure
focal seizures that arise in only one hemisphere, typically caused by structural/metabolic abnormalities
What’s a generalised seizure
seizures with mostly genetic causes that simultaneously in both hemispheres and rapidly spread
Genetic epilepsy is also known as ________. The on-set is usually ________ and can _______. It is likely that this is a complex genetic disorder that primarily involves _________.
Do these patients respond well to medications?
idiopathic
early during childhood
remit
ion channels
Yes
Can we identify the cause of a symptomatic seizure? Do these patients respond well to medications?
Yes, we can usually identify structural or metabolic brain abnormality, but the seizure is often incompletely controlled by medication
What are the options of treatment for epilepsy
medication or surgery
Describe 6 cellular mechanisms underlying epilepsy
1) loss of inhibitory neurons, particularly common in hippocampus
2) regeneration of excitatory neurons following loss of inhibitory neurons
3) aberrant sprouting
4) alteration of intrinsic cellular channels and excitability
5) alteration of synaptic transmission
6) alteration in the extra-neuronal environment
following a physical or genetic insult, there is a latent period before epilepsy begins. What’s involved in the latent period?
there are biological changes that leads to epileptogenesis
Note the changes are accelerated with each episode of epilepsy
What’s the most common aetiology of epilepsy for
1) infants
2) late childhood
3) adults
1) congenital/perinatal CNS insult
2) idiopathic/genetic
3) symptomatic (trauma, ischaemia, tumours, degenerative diseases
What is the most common identifiable epileptogenic lesion? What’s the treatment?
mesial temporal sclerosis
Most commonly by surgical treatment
What’s the second most common epileptogenic lesion?
malformations of cortical development (genetic)
What’s the most common glioma that can cause epilepsy
low grade astrocytoma
